Crash of a Messerschmitt M.20 in Rietschen: 2 killed
Date & Time:
Apr 14, 1931 at 1530 LT
Operator:
Registration:
D-1928
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Berlin – Görlitz
MSN:
442
YOM:
1930
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
En route from Berlin to Görlitz, the airplane suffered a structural failure on the fuselage. The captain reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft went out of control and crashed in an open field located in Rietschen. Eight occupants were injured, four seriously, while the pilot Schirmer and the flight engineer Bischof were killed.
Probable cause:
In-flight structural failure.
